Visiting professor Katy Siegel, curator of the Rose Art Museum's 'Post' and After exhibit gave a lecture last Wednesday on the evolution of modern art from the mid 20th century to the present. Introduced by newly-appointed museum director Michael Rush, Siegel discussed the social, economic and cultural influences on the development of art in the last five decades.Siegel spoke first about Jackson Pollack, known for his drip paintings, and Mark Rothko as classic examples of artists representing the modern movement in American art. As members of the abstract expressionism school, their non-representational styles were marked by their vibrant, assertive and impalpable manipulation of paint and color with the ultimate goal of emotional self-expression, she said.

"The success of abstract expressionism led to the lament of its expired avant-garde status," Siegel said. She went on to describe how pop-art swiftly took its place, and its consumerist nature was inherently middle-class, rather than "bourgeois in style."

She explained that after World War II, modern art was not as well received as it was in previous years. Until this point, art had usually been a private matter, enjoyed mostly by the wealthy. Since much of the American intelligentsia lived abroad, she said, they preferred to purchase art there. As a result, the American market for contemporary art suffered dramatically.

In addition, abstract art was not recognized or appreciated by Americans. Yet despite the movement's initial hardships, abstract expressionists such as Pollack held their ground and refused to pander to the public's demands.

Over the next few decades, New York began to grow as the cultural and economical center of the world. The influx of money helped to establish a new market for art trade, Siegel explained. As new movements emerged, each artist strived to find a unique style. Andy Warhol found his in the representation of simply packaged consumer goods such as Coca-Cola and Campbell's soup. His work celebrated American mass culture, especially its propensity for branding and labeling. Warhol went on to play a crucial role in the development of American pop-art.

This led to the transformation of the contemporary art market in the United States. Art finally became accessible to the American middle class. As a telling example, Siegel presented the recent expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which aimed at accommodating larger crowds, rather than creating extra wall space for new art work, the museum's first major renovation in 20 years.

Siegel ended her lecture by stressing that the evolution of art has not stopped, as many believe. She described the styles of painters like Takashi Murakami to show that artists are finding new ways to express political and social influences in their work.

Siegel is the fourth visiting Henry Luce Scholar in American Art at Brandeis. She is an associate professor of art history at Hunter College and author of several books and essays focusing on contemporary art.